Ke Kuapa 'o Maxwelton Creek

 More rain falls and the winds have been, and promise to be, powerful in their gusts. Our pots of Ohe (Bamboo) topple. Pete resets them using cement blocks to hold them up but then the Wind swirls comes from the other direction and down they go. For now we'll leave them in the horizontal position.  This is a grateful for the life post written as my old year draws itself into a blustery, Lono-filled slip knot.  The photos that fill this post are in a jumble of order, or not. If you're curious, leave me a question in the comments. And if you'd just like to comment, that will be fun, too. "The  slip knot  is a  stopper knot  which is easily undone by pulling the tail ( working end ). The slip  knot  is related to the  running knot , which will release when the  standing end  is pulled. Both knots are identical and are composed of a slipped  overhand knot , where a  bight  allows the knot to be released by pulling on an end; the working end for a slip knot, and the stand

  In November swinging with Tutu on one island looking back at May in a swing on another island ...  The rain continues to fall here on Whidbey. Pete has hauled and shoveled loads of gravel onto the wettest of pockets: between the Quonset and the Vardo steps, at the edge of the gravel road and the dip that is our driveway. We'll need more. Our first winter on this pond has a lot to teach us; we get to be learners, again. The Quonset's transition to make it a warm and cozy space is in the making. As I write, Pete is rearranging things and re-drilling the makeshift table that holds our new 'big ass' oven. A Breville Smart Oven. Oven big enough to roast a whole chicken at one time! A surprise gift from good friends. Wow, what an upgrade to our teeny tiny toaster oven (which we still love use from the ledge on the porch).  The years of learning to live from teeny tiny spaces is a great experience with transitions. Moving from one place or space to another can be a small (an

Our son and his family came for a visit. With a quickly assembled plan, commitment to accommodate the cross-Pacific travelers, and answered prayers for a grand memory-making experience we did it! Hopi and Luna meet the family. Carter and Tutu swing The two CBs (Carter and Christopher) at Greenbank with the two Tutus enjoying time, lavender and great sandwiches from Greenbank Deli. The CBs and Maleka in Langley town. More smelling at Greenbank Hugs in the parking lot at the Langley Motel. Playing  Does this look like rain? Yup, it was a big one. Lagoon Point Back at the Pond, Pete and Moki warm up the Quonset for a first meal and open house with the fam while the visitors visit with old friends at the Earth Sanctuary in Freeland and Pete screws together a table so Moki can roast a chicken for dinner. Maleka and Moki walk and talkstory at The Muliwai (Sunlight Beach). Mahalo nui kini a ke akua, lehua a ke akua, manu a ke akua, pukui a ke akua. All the multiple of gods thank you so much f

 "It's easy to give if you get plenty. Not so easy if you no more." - Dr.  Larrry Kimura The newest return of the wet, and cold season is here. Here on Ke Kuap a (the wall of a pond) o Maxwelton Creek the season of Lono means the rains fall and the water from the pond rises. We knew this is a watershed area. But the theory of knowing something is only a thought until you are immersed in the theory.  The photo of our mini Quonset hut/kitchen above was taken soon after Pete finished the 'bones' of our winter shelter. To create this hale the tools, material and cooperation of the Elementals (the land, and weather) worked in sync with Pete's philosophy of doing what comes next.  It's been almost a month since the Quonset's move onto her new place. I sit at the keys bundled in my old fleece robe, mended work of art winter coat, wool socks, long scarf and favorite hat. The heater is working, but still the wet cold seeps. My work of creating story that rec

 "She had to do something to make it right. She did not yet know what, nor how, but love has a way of leaving people no choice." - Katherine Rundell "The Good Thieves "  The blustery, rain-soaking season -- Lono -- reminds us who is really in charge of life on this ever-spinning home of ours. The Elementals swirl so wind direction is like the line from the hapa haole mele, "like the swirling winds over the pali/lovely hula hands/ kou lima nani e."  I went down to the water's edge the other day to clear my head, oli Lono, and ask for guidance with the bucking horse of life. There were many things to do on my list and most challenged my capacity to sort or combine rationality with intuition; do the two necessarily need to be separate to be useful? Going to the ocean water realigns my place with the whole. As I walked down the long stretching sandy shore the company of Water Beings combined with Wind. Among the hallowed womb of a Tall One were two stone e